DRBC and PADEP to Hold Joint Public Hearing Regarding Exelon's Limerick Generating Station

Written comments accepted until October 27, 2012

For Immediate Release

July 31, 2012

(WEST TRENTON, N.J.) -- The Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) will hold a joint public hearing on Tuesday, August 28, 2012 regarding applications filed with both agencies for the Exelon Generation Company, LLC Limerick Generating Station (LGS), located in Limerick Township, Montgomery County, Pa.

The public hearing will be held from 6 p.m. until 9 p.m. at the Sunny Brook Ballroom, 50 Sunny Brook Rd., Pottstown, Pa. An information session will precede the hearing from 4:30 p.m. until 5:30 p.m. to give the public an opportunity to learn about the applications from staff of both agencies. In order to ensure that those who wish to provide oral testimony have an opportunity to do so, the hearing will be conducted in accordance with a set of procedures that can be accessed from the home page of the Commission's web site, www.drbc.net. Notably, registration to testify will not be accepted in advance, except for elected government officials who may do so by calling Paula Schmitt at (609) 883-9500 ext. 224 prior to 5 p.m. on August 27, 2012. Additionally, each speaker will be allotted no more than three minutes. Click here to view the hearing rules and guidelines (pdf 101 KB).

Written comments will be accepted by both agencies until 5 p.m. on October 27, 2012; comments must be addressed separately to each agency. Neither agency can accept comments by telephone or voice mail.

The DRBC's draft docket consolidates within a single approval (a) all conditions relating to the surface water withdrawals required to meet consumptive and non-consumptive needs at LGS and (b) the facility's surface water discharge to the Schuylkill River. The draft docket would provide for an increase in the maximum daily withdrawal from the Schuylkill River and also would establish a maximum monthly withdrawal limit. The water withdrawals would continue to be made primarily from the Schuylkill River. During periods of low flow in the Schuylkill, consumptive cooling water needs would continue to be met by diversions from various sources in the Schuylkill and Delaware river watersheds.

The draft docket would provide long-term authorization for water withdrawal augmentation operations based upon experience gained from the multi-year LGS Water Supply Modification Demonstration Project and the Wadesville Mine Pool Withdrawal and Streamflow Augmentation Demonstration Project. Originally intended to run four years, the demonstration projects were extended annually between 2008 and 2011 to provide more time for data collection and for DRBC to consolidate its 12 prior approvals into a single docket. Each annual extension was the subject of a public hearing. In addition, DRBC conducted two public meetings each year throughout the multi-year demonstration to review and discuss the most recent data and the totality of the demonstration to date. The proposed DRBC docket would have a term of five years, running concurrently with the PADEP permit.

Also proposed in the draft docket are (a) continuation of the Restoration and Monitoring Fund created at the inception of the demonstration projects and (b) continuation of previously approved modifications to river and stream monitoring requirements. The complete DRBC draft docket, as well as extensive archived information on the demonstration projects and the full text of the Notice of Public Comment Period and Public Hearing, is available at www.drbc.net.

PADEP is proposing a renewal of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit for the facility, which would regulate the continued discharge by LGS of cooling tower blowdown, treated process wastewater, and stormwater to the Schuylkill River and Possum Hollow Run through various outfalls. The NPDES permit renewal application, draft permit No. PA0051926, and related documents can be inspected by appointment at the PADEP Southeast Regional Office, 2 E. Main St., Norristown, Pa. To schedule an appointment, contact the Record Management Section at (484) 250-5910. The PADEP documents are also available at the Limerick and East Coventry township buildings, 646 West Ridge Pike, Limerick, Pa. and 855 Ellis Woods Road, Pottstown, Pa., respectively.

Written comments on the draft docket approval may be submitted to DRBC staff at the hearing or sent as follows: via email to Paula.Schmitt@drbc.state.nj.us or in hard copy to the attention of the Commission Secretary, DRBC, either by fax to (609) 883-9522; U.S. Mail to P.O. Box 7360, West Trenton, NJ 08628-0360; or delivery service to 25 State Police Drive, West Trenton, NJ 08628-0360. Regardless of the method of submission, comments should include the name, affiliation (if any), and address of the commenter and the subject line, "Public Comment - Exelon LGS Docket."

Written comments on the draft NPDES permit may be submitted to PADEP at the hearing or sent to the attention of Ms. Jenifer Fields via email at jefields@pa.gov; by fax to (484) 250-5971; or by U.S. mail or delivery service to DEP, Southeast Regional Office, Clean Water Program, 2 E. Main Street, Norristown, PA 19401. All comments should include the name, affiliation, and address of the commenter and the subject line "Public Comment - Exelon Limerick Generating Station Docket."

Individuals in need of an accommodation as provided for in the Americans with Disabilities Act who wish to attend the hearing should contact Deborah Fries at (484) 250-5808 or by email at defries@pa.gov. or may use the Telecommunications Relay Services (TRS) at 711 to discuss their needs.

The DRBC was formed by compact in 1961 through legislation signed into law by President John F. Kennedy and the governors of the four basin states with land draining to the Delaware River (Delaware, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania). The passage of this compact marked the first time in our nation's history that the federal government and a group of states joined together as equal partners in a river basin planning, development, and regulatory agency.

PADEP is responsible for administering Pennsylvania's environmental laws and regulations, and partners with individuals, organizations, governments, and businesses to protect Pennsylvania's air, land, and water from pollution and to provide for the health and safety of its citizens through a cleaner environment.